Ep 700 (8 Feb 1991)
Synopsis In the [[Bayside Diner (1988-2000)|Bayside Diner]], [[Bobby Marshall|Bobby]] is preoccupied and tense. Today is the day she is going to find out if her application to foster a child has been successful. She's waiting on a phone call and is getting impatient. [[Ailsa Stewart|Ailsa]] talks her out of ringing up to find out what's happening. [[Ben Lucini|Ben]] now has nothing but the farm he's seen on the brain and wishes [[Carly Lucini|Carly]] was as enthusiastic. He has some things to do but tells [[Pippa Ross|Pippa]] he won't be back for a while because he wants to take another look at the farm. Pippa, meanwhile, is still getting her dress ready for her Rotary dinner date. [[Sally Fletcher|Sally]] is a bit irritable about the date and isn't happy that Pippa's asking her if she's OK about it. Another youngster not happy about the dinner date is [[Haydn Ross|Haydn.]] He has been roped into cleaning [[Michael Ross|Michael]]'s ute as punishment for going to the party. He's going to get some pocket money for his efforts but mostly Haydn wants to know if Michael and his mum will get back together again. This is clearly a conversation that they've had before but Haydn still thinks they should at least try. Pippa and Ailsa chat in the diner about her date and laugh about how [[Alf Stewart|Alf]] used to have the car spotlessly clean when he was dating Ailsa. The phone rings and Bobby's onto it in about .005684 of a second. It's Louise Scott from Family and Community Services and she's looking for directions to the [[the Beach House|Beach House]]. Bobby's very nervous and rambling when Louise arrives to the house. She apologises and says all she wants to know is if her application has been successful. Louise suggests she makes her the cup of coffee she'd offered when she first arrived. Out at the farm, Ben gives farmer Roy Jackson a helping hand. He explains that Carly isn't as enthusiastic as he is. Over scones served up by Roy's wife Betty, they tell Ben the story of how they came to live on the farm. Betty was a city girl too and she cried when she first saw the farm. She came to love it though and they've lived a good life there for 40 years. She suggests to Ben that he brings Carly out and give it a try. Donald has found out about Bobby's meeting with Louise. Despite Pippa and Ailsa trying to stop him, he heads over to the Beach House. He meets a sad looking Louise walking out through the doors and asks her if he can have a brief word. When he walks into the house moments later, Bobby is nowhere to be seen but he hears crying. She is very downbeat over her rejection and feels like she's a nobody. Donald's words previously hadn't really held much sway in the end anyway - it was her childhood history and losing her baby so recently that counted against her. Donald says some kind words to her but they don't seem to sink in. Later in the diner, Donald admits to Ailsa that he's lonely and that he wants Bobby to come back to live with him. He'll call later and ask her. Michael comes to collect Pippa and has two gifts with him. One is flowers for Pippa to wear, the other are chocolates for Sally. They call over to Alf and Ailsa's house first and have a drink. A nervous Alf has to make a speech and is fretting about how he'll make it through. He starts telling a story about what had happened when giving the previous year's speech and how [[Tom Fletcher]] had saved his bacon. He's embarrassed about it but Pippa says someone was bound to mention Tom tonight - she's glad it was now. As he'd promised, Donald goes back to visit Bobby and they have a meal. He admits he hasn't been cooking because he's living on his own. He also admits he misses her and would love her to come back. Bobby says she can't. She has been doing some thinking and knows she has to stand on her own two feet. She's going to keep applying and applying until she can prove to them that she's the right person. She asks Donald does he understand? He nods, sadly. Cast *[[Ailsa Stewart]] - [[Judy Nunn]] *[[Bobby Simpson]] - [[Nicolle Dickson]] *[[Ben Lucini]] - [[Julian McMahon]] *[[Pippa Fletcher]] - [[Debra Lawrance]] *[[Sally Fletcher]] - [[Kate Ritchie]] *[[Michael Ross]] - [[Dennis Coard]] *[[Haydn Ross]] - [[Andrew Hill]] *[[Alf Stewart]] - [[Ray Meagher]] *[[Donald Fisher]] - [[Norman Coburn]] Guest Cast *Roy Jackson - Frederic Abbott *Betty Jackson - Marie Armstrong *Louise Scott - Elaine Hudson - * Writer - Mary Dagmar Davies * Director - Michael Sergi * Series Producer - [[Andrew Howie]] * Exec Producer - [[Des Monaghan]] Prev Ep [[Ep 699 (7 Feb 1991)]] Next Ep [[Ep 701 (11 Feb 1991)]]